Words from Ian McKellen

Two old friends meet to converse, joke and argue with themselves as they wait through one day and then another for the mysterious Godot...the combination of music hall, poetry and tension redefined what is possible in theatre, so that today Waiting for Godot is accepted as one of the most significant plays of the 20th century.

When Samuel Beckett's play exploded on to the London stage 50 years ago, it shocked as many people as it delighted. There had never been a play like it; indeed it was said that: "Beckett has achieved a theoretical impossibilitya play in which nothing happens, that yet keeps audiences glued to their seats."

In a year rich with diverse drama Sean Mathias's 2009 production for the Theatre Royal Haymarket matched the success of the London premiere and proved one of the most successful plays of the season (indeed of any season) and broke all box office records for both the play and the theatre.

After a sold out national tour and an extended run in the West End, the Haymarket revived the production, again directed by Sean Mathias with Ian McKellen and Ronald Pickup returning to their memorable roles as Estragon and Lucky. The highly acclaimed and award-winning actors, Roger Rees and Matthew Kelly joined them as Vladimir and Pozzo.

Ian McKellen and Roger Rees are both renowned Shakespearean actors at Stratford-upon-Avon, in the West End and on Broadway. They first worked together in 1976 in Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. In 1978 they toured UK for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Reviewsof the 2010 production

"In his droll, wry way McKellen's Estragon is funnier than last year, funnier even than his famous Widow Twankey" -- Benedict Nightingale, The Times

Reviews of the 2009 production

"Performances that were at once subtle and commanding, touching and funny, vulnerable and dignified and just about everything we could expect Vladimir and Estragon to be." -- Benedict Nightingale, The Times

"The opening moments of Sean Mathias's production of Samuel Beckett's benchmark 1953 play suggest that this will be a 'Godot' with a difference, and for two-and-a-half alternately crushing and beautiful hours, Mr. McKellen and his scarcely less distinguished colleague, Patrick Stewart, do not disappoint." -- Matt Wolf, The New York Times